UFC Fight Night Singapore Results: Max Holloway Knocks Out The Korean Zombie In Round 3, TKZ Announces Retirement
UFC Fight Night Singapore Main Card Results
#1 Max Holloway Def. #8 “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung Via Round 3 KO (Punch) – Featherweight
Fight Notes: Two absolute legends of MMA put on a show for UFC Fight Night Singapore and everyone watching at home. Early in the fight, TKZ was finding his moments making it a very competitive round 1. In round 2, Holloway was able to hurt TKZ and nearly was able to get the choke. However, in typical Zombie fashion, he was able to escape and keep fighting despite being hurt. In round 3, The Korean Zombie brought the pressure to Holloway resulting in a flurry of punches from both men. Max was able to find the fight-ending right hand, with no need for any follow-up shots. After the fight, Holloway dedicated the fight to his home of Hawaii, which recently has been dealing with tragic wildfires. Chan Sung Jung “The Korean Zombie” announced his retirement after putting on a great fight for the fans one last time after a career of doing just that. A true legend of the sport.
#8 Anthony Smith Def. #10 Ryan Spann Via Split Decision (29-28 29-28 28-29)
Fight Notes: Two of the top fighters at Light Heavyweight did not disappoint. After Smith came out well in a competitive round 1, Spann was able to catch him with a left Hook in round 2. This landed perfectly on the left eye of Smith, which severely compromised his vision. Spann was nearly able to get Smith out of there in round 2, but Smith showed off his heart and survived to make it to round 3. From there it was a competitive round 3, where both men had their moments. In the end, it was an Anthony Smith split decision win. I certainly think it could have gone either way as other than the dominant round 2 for Spann, the other two were very competitive.
#9 Giga Chikadze Def. #15 Alex Caceres Via Unanimous (30-27 30-27 30-27) – Featherweight
Fight Notes: After being out for over a year Giga Chikadze put in a great performance for his return. Alex Caceres’ free-flowing style on the feet made it challenging for Giga and an entertaining fight for the fans. Caceres was the more active fighter but it was clear that Chikadze was the more powerful striker when both men would land. I was not sure how Giga would return after such a long layoff but I was happy to see he is still one of the top fighters in the division. A great fight for both men but a clear Giga win, awesome mic moment after the fight where Giga called to be on the December PPV.
Rinya Nakamura Def. Fernie Garcia Via Unanimous Decision (30-26 30-27 30-27) – Bantamweight
Fight Notes: This was a rather one-sided matchup as Nakamura was able to overpower Garcia in this fight. He was the more versatile and impactful striker. However, most of this fight occurred on the ground where Nakamura was able to control Garcia with dominant top pressure. Garcia put up a great fight and was able to defend the several submissions of Nakamura, including a very deep armbar. I would have loved the finish but Garcia is no slouch and has never been finished in his MMA career. Nakamura moves to 8-0 (2-0 in UFC) after winning the Road to UFC.
#3 Erin Blanchfield Def. #4 Taila Santos Via Unanimous Decision (29-28 29-28 29-28 ) – Women’s Flyweight
Fight Notes: What an extremely high-level showdown between two of the best fighters in the division. After dropping the first round, Blanchfield was able to negate the kickboxing of Santos with relentless takedown attempts. While Santos mostly defended, Blanchfield continued to shoot for the takedowns and controlled Santos on the Cage. This exhausted Santos. By the final moments of the fight, it was now Blanchfield landing on the feet against the fatigued Santos. I loved the determination of Blanchfield, after losing the first round she took over the fight. The 24-year-old Blanchfield called for the winner of the Champion Grasso vs. #1 Shevchenko for the Title.
Junior Tafa Def. Parker Porter Via Rd 1. KO (Punch) – Heavyweight
Fight Notes: Junior Tafa put in an amazing one-round performance in Singapore. Getting the Veteran Porter out of there with a right hand in less than a minute and a half. Funnily enough, Porter’s last defeat was to Junior’s older brother Justin. The 26-year-old Tafa earns his first UFC victory and moves to 5-1 in MMA (1-1 in UFC) after going 20-5 in kickboxing.
UFC Fight Night Singapore Prelim Results
Waldo Cortes-Acosta Def. Lukasz Brzeski Via Rd 1 KO/TKO (Punch) – Heavyweight
Garrett Armfield Def. Toshiomi Kazama Via Rd 1 KO/TKO (Punches) – Bantamweight
Michal Oleksiejczuk Def. Chidi Njokuani Via Rd 1 KO/TKO (Punches) – Middleweight
Song Kenan Def. Rolando Bedoya Via UD (29-28 29-28 29-28) – Welterweight
Billy Goff Def. Yusaku Kinoshita Via Rd 1 KO/TKO – Welterweight
JJ Aldrich Def. Liang Na Via Rd 2 KO/TKO – Women’s Flyweight
SeungWoo Choi Def. Jarno Errens Via UD (30-27 29-28 29-28) – Featherweight
By Max Rhoades
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